I Come In Peace

[François Laffont]

Would Felix still want to see him? Ever since Prom, when Franck had to stupidly come up to him and kiss the boy, he had been asking himself this question. His father did notice something was wrong when he came to pick up his son but Franck remained quiet. He didn’t want to talk about that, didn’t want to say out loud he might have just lost his two best friends, and all the blame was on him for this. Even now, he could not believe he kissed him. Sure, Felix was a very good looking guy and probably the nicest person Franck knew. But he was straight. And even if he was not, doing that just when his personal life was crazy ought to be the worst thing Franck could have done.

In his mind, he was certain Felix had a very different opinion of him than he used to. It wasn’t like Felix had no idea Franck was gay but the French boy had never flirted with him, at least not for real. Franck thought of all the time he joked with him, asking him why he was not gay or that he could so kiss him right now. Felix played along because he knew Franck never would have done it. They both knew that. But that fact had changed now, since Franck did kiss him. It meant nothing, just an overload of emotions directed at the wrong person at the wrong time. But will Felix see it that way? He seemed to do so that night, but now he had the time to think about it and perhaps his opinion changed.

Franck dared not see his friend. He wanted to but he was afraid to be cast out. Felix could try as hard as he could to be kind while doing so, Franck would know by the emotions inside of him that something changed and getting such vibe from his friend, even the thought of it hurt his heart. But he knew at some point the two would have to talk, to clear the mess that happened during prom.

Such an occasion came served on a silver platter to Franck, or, to be precise, wrapped up in a box. He was near the reception desk when the secretary said she needed to find someone to bring a parcel to the radio station. François proposed to do it instead. He was known well enough around the school to be trusted and, well, the woman seemed pretty busy. She accepted. With the box in hands, Franck thought he held a perfect opportunity to talk with Felix. If the boy had no desire to see him anymore, he would be forced to endure him for a moment because of the box, just long enough for Franck to know his feelings about him and whether he could still call him a friend. He was still apprehensive but he had to do it.

He arrived at the station. Franck never went there before, not even to wait for his friend. He had no idea what the place looked like. Only as he reached the door did he think Felix might actually not be there. What would he do if that was the case? Too late to back down now however. Guess he would now find out.

[Felix Nicholas]

Thankfully, it seemed the chaos and the emotional events stirred up during prom were finally calming, if at a slow pace. Long past now were the heated words, the het up emotions... Now came the gentle lull of healing and rebuilding what relationships could be rebuilt... And Felix had a lot of rebuilding to do.
He'd already had a run in with Erika... And as painful as it was, the radio host almost felt as though a weight had been lifted from his chest after speaking with her. They'd likely never have that same level of friendship they once had, but at the very least it was a start. However, while Erika had been an important issue, there was another he needed to address... And that was Franck. Felix had been thinking on what had transpired between them that night, ans although he wanted to speak to his friend about it... He'd not yet gathered the courage to go to him. He was afraid, and he knew it, that Franck would feel awkward around him... And that was a hard hit to the radio host's heart.
Felix was sat in his radio booth, working on a new playlist of upbeat summer hits, perfect as the warm month of July crept onwards.
He smiled to himself, taking great comfort from this simple but time consuming task. He however blinked as he became aware of someone stepping into the room, Felix quickly pulling his headphones off his head and laying them on the desk in front of him, swivelling his chair round to face the visitor.
He certainly hadn't expected to see Franck stood there, a box clutched in his hands. Felix blinked at the guy, his heart feeling slightly elevated at the sight of his friend; At least, Felix still hoped he was... Who knew if the Empath would feel comfortable with him again? At this thought his stomach felt as though it had hit the floor, although he kept up his smile.
"Hey, Franck," He grinned brightly, trying to keep the situation casual in the hopes he could judge how Franck felt about him now.
"How... How are you? Is that for me?" He gestured towards the box in the boy's hands.

[François Laffont]

At first, Franck thought about knocking. But he didn’t want to disturb anyone in there. What if they were recording something and the sound of his knock was heard? He could not stay here all day long however. So Franck decided to open the door a little, see if it was unlocked to begin with, telling whether there was someone inside or not, then he would wait patiently if they worked on something until they could deal with him. If that was not Felix, he’d show the box, place it somewhere and leave. If it was his friend... well he wasn’t sure. But he had to do something so he did just that.

Felix was there alright. Franck expected, wished for him to be there. Yet now that he was facing him, something in the French boy made him want to go away. It was ridiculous. Franck mentally scolded himself. He let his power gather Felix’s emotions and send them to him. He normally didn’t like that and would do his best not to focus on what information he got that way but he needed to know. He got no dislike or mistrust from him. In fact, Felix seemed relieved and happy to see him. Franck sighed heavily, feeling like a huge weight was pulled off of his shoulders. At least Felix seemed ready to consider him a friend still. As for the rest, well, he will have to learn in due time.

Franck looked down at the box, only then remembering it. “Oh, yes. The reception got that, it was meant for the radio station and well, since I wanted an excuse to talk to you...” he said, letting his sentence trail off. This situation was getting awkward now. Franck didn’t want that. He chuckled, shocked to hear the nerves in it, before handing it to Felix. He had no idea what was in it but certainly Felix knew and had been expecting it. Music he supposed, or maybe some new headphones or mic.

“How are you?” he asked Felix on a soft tone, completely dismissing the fact his friend asked it first. Who cared how he felt, what Franck really wanted to know was if their friendship would now take a turn for the awkward every time he brought up the fact he was gay. Franck could keep it a little more to himself of course but he was not able to hide that part of him. So if Felix had now a problem, and he hoped he did not, then Franck was sorry to say their friendship would never be the same.

[Felix Nicholas]

Felix was well aware that Franck was likely reading his emotions, and frankly the radio host had nothing to hide. This guy was such a dear friend to him... And still was, at least to Felix. But since he lacked the empath ability the Frenchman held, he was simply going to have to try and work out exactly how Franck felt in regards to him and their friendship. Felix had... Been thinking on it quite often, and although he regretted not gathering the courage to speak to Franck sooner, he was glad the guy was here now. The radio host stood up, smiling brightly as he reached out for the box, taking it from the man's hands and placing it down on the desk beside his headphones. He paused a moment, taking note of Franck's words; He wanted to talk to him... Felix thought he would feel a further heavy weight at such a comment, but instead a flurry of relief washed over him... Franck wanted to talk, and that was a clear indication that he hopefully at least still wanted to be his friend.

"Yeah, it's a new microphone," He spoke softly, trailing off into silence when Franck asked him how he was. He noted that Franck hadn't answered him, and this worried the radio host. What if he did feel awkward around him now...? The radio host however managed a smile, and gave the empath a slow nod with a casual shrug. "I'm fine, Franck... Still healing but I'm getting there, you know?" He trailed off, averting his eyeline downward a moment as he lent against the desk, sighing a little before smiling gently at the Frenchman. "... Franck... I just, I mean. I'm more interested in how you're feeling... Overall. How are you?" It was a simple question, but it was a start. All the radio host really wanted to know, for certain, was that the man before him still wanted to be his friend... That there was no awkwardness on his side... Because there certainly wasn't any on Felix's. Despite the kiss, Felix had felt no dislike or uneasiness towards Franck. In fact, he felt the same warm comfort he often felt while in his presence, which had not lessened in the slightest. This man had always been there for him, since the day they'd met... And Felix had no intention of loosing him as a friend; As long as Franck still wanted him to be his, of course.

[François Laffont]

Maybe there was something unfair about the fact Franck could tell all that his friend felt while Felix had to guess about what the French boy may feel. François had the tendency to forget others might not be able to pick up others’ emotions as easily as he was. Still, being able to tell how people felt, it wasn’t always a good thing. You ever wonder what you boyfriend thinks when a pretty girl walks nearby? How would you feel when your best friend envied you for something? It could be something small, irrelevant, that would never change how two people feel for each other... normally, when they kept it for themselves and let it wash away because it was trivial compared to all that bounded them together. But Franck would still feel those, and it hurt sometimes.

Of course, people were not only one emotion, there were a mix that created them. Like flowers that, put together, made a bouquet. He could feel his hope, his happiness for seeing Franck here, but also his concern and his fear. The kind of emotions that were bubbling inside of Franck right now, resonating ever more so within him because of this. It amplified his own feelings alright. Not all of them. It focused on one. Hope. If he felt the same, then perhaps he came to the same conclusion. There was reason to be hopeful there.

Franck nodded to his friend’s words. It was natural that he was still healing. You don’t recover from what happened overnight. It needed some time. Franck did recall he wanted to talk of this, ask Felix if he knew he talked to Elsa and not Erika and what he thought of everything with that new piece of information. Perhaps there was hope for the two to be friends again, even if trust needed to be rebuilt. But he froze when Felix said he was more interested in how Franck felt. The French boy was so used to look out for everyone, to be their support anytime they needed one, that he often pushed aside his own feelings. He also was more of a listener than a talker. But Felix wanted to know.

He sighed heavily, looking around, as if the answer was lying there on the floor for him to pick up. “I’ve yelled at one of my closest friend and then kissed another. How am I supposed to feel?” he admitted. He never told Felix he had a confrontation with Erika but the rumour mill sure did the job of telling everybody about it. He looked up at Felix, shaking his head and shrugging at the same time, best proof he was still a bit confused. “I don’t know. I wish I could erase everything that happened, pretend it never did. But words were said and things were done and I have to deal with the consequences,” he added. The ball was now in Felix’s court, he thought. Franck was not entirely sure what consequence his actions towards him would be. He will have to tell him.

Franck was still somewhat nervous. “Look... that kiss, it meant nothing. I mean, I was a bit drunk, and all the emotions I got from the night, it was just too much. I mean, I like you but I know there will never be more between us and I’m not trying for that to change. I just...” he said, relatively fast, which was why he stopped himself mid-sentence, sighing. Not need to ramble about it over and over, he pretty much said what he wanted to say. Now he had to wait for his reaction.

[Felix Nicholas]

Felix made no attempt to hold back any of his emotions, not wanting to hide anything from his friend. When it came to it, he realised how difficult it must be for the guy to feel such waves of feelings from others, unable to prevent knowing exactly how others felt while in his presence. Felix knew the Frenchman must be getting a mixture of emotions from him, and although he didn't want to hold anything back so that the guy knew exactly how he felt, he also didn't want to overwhelm him. Felix took a moment to collect his thoughts in the silence before Franck spoke, blinking at him slowly as his friend began to speak.
His small smile faded as Franck spoke, speaking of how he'd yelled at one of his "closest friends", and then mentioning the kiss. The radio host bowed his head, furrowing his brows down at the floor. Felix had made assumptions that Franck had confronted Erika due to the rather obvious post by that vile gossip blog. So in one night, the guy must have thought he'd potentially ruined two friendships... And Felix felt a flurry of regret for letting Franck leave that night without them talking it through there and then.
He wished he could go back, undo what had been done... Well, him and Felix both. Although he'd spoken to Erika, their friendship was still very much in tatters, even if it was hopefully slowly going to be rebuilt. How he wished he'd acted differently... But he couldn't take anything he'd said or done back; He could only push forward, and try to fix as much of his damaged relationships as he could.

Then there was Elsa... 
Elsa.
The radio host had tried to push the incident between them to the back of his mind, but found it frequently returning to the forefront... Causing the flurry of confusing emotions to resurface. He needed to beat those down, far down... He hadn't spoken about the incident to anyone, and he was sure Elsa hadn't either... He certainly had no intention of doing so. So far, acting on his emotions had only hurt others or made things awkward for all involved... And rumours about the both fo them was the last thing Felix wanted for the Bellefonte. 

Then there was Franck... What would he think about him kissing Elsa? Felix trusted the guy not to speak to others about it, but for right now this discussion wasn't about him and Elsa... It was about him and Franck. 

But while Felix thought on this, Franck went on, Felix snapping his eyeline to his friend, noting the nervousness in his voice. The kiss... The radio host had thought back on that exact moment a number of times, blaming his emotional state at the time and the fact he was quite tipsy. As Franck went on, Felix steadily felt seeping warmth enter his cheeks. He raised a hand at the guy to stop, although he wasn't quite sure what he wanted to say; He remained silent a moment before speaking.
"I'm... I'm so sorry I dragged you into all of this," Felix spoke. "I never meant for you to get hurt, Franck..." He trailed off, sighing in an exasperated manner, running a hand through his hair as he bowed his head. This guy... He meant so much to Felix... And even now, simply being in his presence gave the radio host comfort. It must be the Frenchman's aura... It just seemed to lift Felix's spirit. "... And the kiss. I wasn't in the best place either, and I'd had quite a bit to drink..." He sighed again, before smiling softly, raising his eyeline to meet Franck's gaze. "... Franck. You're my best friend... You mean the world to me, you know? And you always will, no matter what happens." He thought a moment back to the night, to that moment. It hadn't felt particularly wrong, but he supposed it was because of how comfortable he felt around the Frenchman... That and the amount he'd had to drink. 


 

[François Laffont]

It wasn’t easy all the time, to feel everything, from everyone. You could dismiss some emotions, claiming it was brief and not long-lasting, the fact remained that a lover might suddenly have desired a cute one passing by, or a friend envied you because you won a game of cards. It meant nothing but it was a side of them you’d rather not know. Franck feared above all that what happened would change things between them, that because of a silly kiss Felix might not appreciate Franck being so close to him anymore. Felix might still consider him as dear a friend as before, the fact would remain that whenever Franck’s sexuality would come out the boy might have second thoughts. It would kill Franck to think his friend could second guess any gesture he would have for him in the future. Honestly, of all the things that happened that night, it was probably the one moment Franck feared would affect everyone the most. Erika could forgive what happened, knowing he meant to protect Felix and that he had nothing against her relationship with Trevor, he actually thought he was a nice guy. Things would go back to the ways they were. How about with Felix?

Comforted in the fact Felix did seem to wish for their relationship not to change, Franck didn't try to read his emotions as much. He could still feel them coming his way but he was not analyzing them. So whatever he thought about Elsa, Franck wouldn’t know. Anyway, he wouldn’t be able to tell it was about Elsa, he knew how one felt but not what caused it.

Franck wanted to clarify the matter of the kiss. It was nothing at all. At this point, he preferred not to admit the crush he may have on Felix. He always knew the boy was straight and he never intended to change that. But Felix was handsome and a nice guy, it was only natural Franck had a bit of a crush for him. That said, it did not mean he wanted to work on those feelings. He’d rather have Felix as a friend than being turned down. He was more than happy with Felix as his friend only. What a mushy couple they’d be otherwise.

He stopped talking as Felix raised his hand however, waiting patiently. Soon, he started to bite his lips, kind of afraid what Felix would say. The last thing he wanted was for Felix to think he was in love with him. This was so not the point here. And it would force him to admit his attraction, which would only make things more awkward. He frowned however when Felix finally spoke, not expecting this at all. “Don’t say that. I’m the one who threw myself in it, willingly,” he pointed out. Wasn’t he the one who forced Felix out of his room? All of this could have been prevented had he spent the night with Felix in his room, watching movies and trying to cheer him up. The fact they both drank too much was an understatement. Franck had not expected there would be alcohol and so did not exactly watch out.

He smiled when Felix claimed he was his best friend. That would mean he still was and that was a comforting thought. Franck came closer to him. “I just wish we could forget about it. I mean, it meant nothing, nothing at all. I don’t want you to get any ideas. I won’t try to repeat it again,” he explained. Was it possible, to pretend they never kissed, that any flirting he might do in the future is just for fun like it had always been? Franck knew he’d watch out a bit more at first. But if he knew Felix would not worry about hidden meanings, it would be a huge weight off his shoulders already.